Web links

ABSENT for more than a decade from formula one, slicks were very
much back in fashion yesterday. In tyres one could see this, but
also when it came to drivers.

It is a word with multiple meanings and many of them have
applied  at different times  to Jenson Button. It can
mean seriously quick but also something else. Bill Clinton 
do not forget  was once known as slick Willie.

For Button, the 29-year-old British driver who yesterday
strolled to the second victory of his 155-start career, it has been
some comeback. Five laps into the Australian Grand Prix, as he sat
on a five-second lead, he told his pit crew on the radio: "Next
time I come past, pinch me."

For most of formula one's recent history his name has been
shorthand for unfulfilled talent. More often still, he has been
tabloid fodder, scrutinised more for his changes of girlfriend than
for his changes of gear. An internet fan site devoted to Button
promises to provide the reader: "A guide to his looks, his body,
his sex life and his F1 career".

From the outside, at least, it has been approximately the
appropriate order of things.

The Daily Mail dubbed him: "The untameable playboy", as
tabloids breathlessly followed his romances with pop star Louise
Griffiths and millionaire socialite Florence Brudenell-Bruce. There
were yachts and parties and also sometimes yacht parties. There
were contractual disputes, massive pay packets and  as the
years went on  not quite so much talk about his driving.
Lewis Hamilton  five years the younger  took over as
England's fastest man, claiming in his second season the
championship that Button, in stints at Bennetton, Renault, Williams
and Honda, had never come near.

A month ago Button wondered if his career at the top level might
be over. Honda had pulled out of the sport and the one-time great
young hope of British racing was about to lose his drive. He was,
he said this week, "hard to live with" over the winter. They were
dark times, evidently  lightened only by the attentions of
half-Japanese, half Argentinian lingerie model Jessica
Michibata.

Then the miracle of engineering and creative refinancing that is
the Brawn GP team suddenly took shape. Four laps after stepping in
to test the new car he knew he was onto a winner. Yesterday the
proof was delivered. Somehow, Button had a seat in the slickest car
on the grid. Suddenly the slickest man in the paddock was turning
heads for his wheel-work again. Thoughts of survival quickly
morphed into thoughts of victory. Now they will be thoughts of
domination.

"It's an amazing day," he said. "It's been a traumatic few
months for all of us I can't put it out there how tough it's
been. This has been a fairytale ending to our first race."

From pole position, with clean air and clear track extending
ahead of him, Button the driver had merely to do what Button the
Casanova could not: go steady. As teammate Rubens Barrichello
stalled and sent ripples of chaos through the grid, Button pulled
away. By the end of lap one he had a four-second lead. Seemingly
without taking a risk or breaking a sweat he held it.

By the half-way mark, he had maintained that break, lapping more
than half a second quicker on each trip around the lake than
second-placed Sebastian Vettel. He was, he said later, "taking it
easy, just keeping an eye on him". A mid-race crash brought out the
pace car and squeezed his lead. As soon as it left he reasserted
his dominance. A pit-lane error cost him time again but it mattered
not. The race had thrown up some challenges  not least the
fading light  but nothing to compare with those he'd endured
during the off-season.

"It wasn't my best race," he said. "But I still won. I'm chuffed
to bits." In one race he had scored more points than in the
preceding two years. "I've worked so bloody hard for this," he
said, a pointed remark for those who'd doubted his graft. All along
he had insisted that he was no idle playboy  that only bad
luck and bad cars had held him back. Pressed last night on whether
he felt vindicated after so much criticism, he chose to be
magnanimous. "This win is for me and the team. I don't need to poke
anyone in the eye for what they've said about me."

He had won his second race, three seasons after the first and
nine after debuting. Few doubt that he will add a third win soon,
perhaps next weekend in Malaysia.

The Curious Case of Jensen Button has drawn to a close. Now it
is time for The Fast and the Furious.

Web links

1238261445247-theage.com.auhttp://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/motorsport/grand-prix/button-wins-but-it-could-have-been-his-undoing/2009/03/29/1238261445247.htmltheage.com.auThe Age2009-03-30Button wins but it could have been his undoingDan SilkstoneSportMotorsportAustralianGrandPrix09http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2009/03/29/aaButton_Cars_wideweb__470x321,0.jpg

Jenson Button and Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello acknowledge the
crowd after their Australian Grand Prix quinella at Albert Park
yesterday.

470321AFPhttp://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/formulaone/grandprix/index.html<strong>Full coverage</strong> Australian Grand Prix mini-sitetext/html-internalhttp://blogs.theage.com.au/sport/archives/2009/03/live_australian.html<strong>Blog</strong> How the race unfoldedtext/html-internalhttp://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/motorsport/grand-prix/button-converts-pole-into-grand-prix-triumph/2009/03/29/1238261437749.htmlButton converts pole into Grand Prix triumphtext/html-documenthttp://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/motorsport/grand-prix/brawn-team-in-fairytale-f1-debut/2009/03/28/1237657211267.htmlBrawn team in fairytale F1 debuttext/html-documenthttp://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/motorsport/grand-prix/rosberg-in-fast-lane-steering-towards-fame-and-riches/2009/03/28/1237657211273.htmlRosberg in fast lane, steering towards fame and richestext/html-documenthttp://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/motorsport/grand-prix/bornagain-duo-back-in-the-frame/2009/03/28/1237657211250.htmlBorn-again duo back in the frametext/html-documenthttp://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/motorsport/grand-prix/paris-hearing-will-decide-appeals/2009/03/28/1237657211259.htmlParis hearing will decide appealstext/html-documenthttp://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/motorsport/grand-prix/cleanskin-cars-entice-virgin/2009/03/28/1237657211256.htmlCleanskin cars entice Virgintext/html-documenthttp://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/MiniSite/MiniSiteArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=61808&vf=28&MiniSiteID=173Everyday drivers take on Albert Park tracktext/html-externalhttp://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/MiniSite/MiniSiteArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=61808&vf=28&MiniSiteID=173Everyday drivers take on Albert Park tracktext/html-externalhttp://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/MiniSite/MiniSiteArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=61808&vf=28&MiniSiteID=173Everyday drivers take on Albert Park tracktext/html-externalhttp://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/MiniSite/MiniSiteArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=61808&vf=28&MiniSiteID=173Everyday drivers take on Albert Park tracktext/html-externalhttp://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/MiniSite/MiniSiteArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=61808&vf=28&MiniSiteID=173Everyday drivers take on Albert Park tracktext/html-externalhttp://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/MiniSite/MiniSiteArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=61808&vf=28&MiniSiteID=173Everyday drivers take on Albert Park tracktext/html-externalhttp://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/formulaone/grandprix/index.html<strong>Full coverage</strong> Australian Grand Prix mini-sitetext/html-internal